Saga #7 – Review

By: Brian K. Vaughan (story), Fiona Staples (art)

The Story: Marko and Alana get to perform in their very own Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

The Review: Anyone who’s reviewed or read this title knows that at its heart, Saga is really a story about a family and the struggle required to remain one.  Sure, the struggle’s often made harder by the backdrop of intergalactic war they live in, but I’d say you’re just as invested—if not more so—in whether this diverse little group can keep themselves together long enough to survive the conflict.

The story has depicted Marko and Alana, horns and wings aside, as a pretty ordinary couple.  They’ve made it pretty clear that they’d like nothing better than to live and be treated as such.  Yet they seem to have no choice but to have a space opera thrust upon them.  Consider Marko as a young lad, bathing in the downright halcyonic sunlight of Wreath, playing with his dog, Rumfer—and then his parents magically summoning up the images of a past massacre to teach him never to forget “those evil fucks with the wings” from Landfall.

WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best of the past week: Sweet Tooth #39 – Easy call.  This was the cherry on top of Lemire’s story about fathers and sons and redemption.  There’s nothing I can really add here that isn’t in my review, so just go read the issue and the review.

Most anticipated this week: Wow….your pull list can get long even when you hardly read any Big 2 books!  Good stuff this week!

1). The Walking Dead #104 – It’s sad, but the death of _______  brought back the “nobody’s safe” atmosphere from the early parts of the series.  For some reason, it was important to see Kirkman kill one of the OG survivors just to make us know that he could/would do it.  That sense of danger has rocketed TWD to an almost automatic spot at the top of my list whenever it comes out.

2). Saga #7 – Welcome back!  Don’t ever leave me again!  After a few months hiatus, we get a new issue of Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples’ budding masterpiece.  I hate to call a comic that only has one story arc under it’s belt “the best”, but it is certainly a contender.  If you like science-fiction and rich characters, check this out.  They’re making a lot of other comic books look really pedestrian.

3). Punk Rock Jesus #5 – Last issue of this series really took things to a new level and we got to see Chris make the transition from clone of Jesus to Punk Rock Jesus.  The amount of complexity that Sean Murphy is weaving into this tale is very impressive for a first-time writer and we all know that he can draw like a MF-er.

4). Batman #14 – Even though I don’t like classic villains, it’s hard to argue with what Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo and team did last issue.  They created a Joker that was horrifying and threatening.  Don’t ever stray from these horror roots, guys!

5). Fantastic Four #1 – Big shoes to fill, Matt Fraction!  I’m bracing for disappointment after the departure of Jonathan Hickman and the arrival of a writer who I don’t like as much and an artist I’m not typically fond of.  But, hey!  I could be wrong.

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Alex’s Top Picks

Pick of the Week:  Sweet Tooth #39 – Damn, that was one hell of an issue.  Nobody does tragedy and downright sadness quite like Jeff Lemire does, both in writing and in art.  This was a real gutwrencher of an issue and, in many ways, THIS is the final issue.  Next month is just going to be picking up the pieces after this month’s wreckage.  Heavy stuff and one that’s somewhere between treat and torture for long-time readers.

Most Anticipated:  Thor: God of Thunder #1 – This next week is a BIG one for Marvel.  There are no fewer than four Marvel NOW titles out this Wednesday, three of them brand new series.  Of the lot, Thor is the one I’m most looking forward to.  What can I say, I love Thor and Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic are two of my favourite creative talents.  The art previews for this one have been nothing less than jaw-dropping and Aaron’s concept for the series is unbelievably epic and ambitious.  This one’s gonna be a keeper, even if it’s also going to be grim as hell.

Fantastic Four #1 – Another Marvel NOW title that I’ll be picking up.  If Matt Fraction’s time at Marvel has shown anything, it’s that there are some books that play to his style and others that do not.  I’m reasonably confident that the cosmic craziness of Marvel’s First Family will suit his strengths.  Big ideas with a sense of humour are right up Fraction’s alley and if I could put him anywhere at Marvel, it’d be with the Fantastic Four.  Having Bagley drawing the big superheroics doesn’t hurt either.

All-New X-Men #1 – Yeah, the critics have already been pouring in the hate for this one long before it hits shelves.  At the risk of getting flayed, I actually really like the concept for this series and think it’ll lead to some really interesting character dynamics.  Also, the previews have shown some really, really great Stuart Immonen artwork.  Hopefully All-New X-Men starts as strong as New Avengers did.

Batman #14 – I absolute LOVED the first issue of Death of the Family.  Snyder’s Joker is a very different beast.  He’s intimidating and downright horrifying.  I am so happy that this story-arc exists and can’t wait to get another fix.  Great stuff here!

Saga #7 – As if there weren’t enough high quality comics coming out this week, Saga has to make an appearance.  There’s not even much more to be said for this book – it’s awesome, the characters are awesome, and for a series that’s only had 6 issues, the book’s universe is so realized and expansive.  It’s a must-have and will pretty much always make my top picks.